Marriage of Unconvenience

Maeve seemed to assess the situation and swept immediately up to the trembling bride and put her arm around her shoulder and said something in her ear. The bride nodded and Maeve announced that she was taking the bride for a veil consultation in the back and that everyone was going to have to wait. I watched as she tucked the girl under her arm and pulled her away from her family. Brilliant. The poor girl’s voice was drowned out over all those opinions and she needed someone in her corner. I hoped Maeve would be able to help her speak up for herself. It was her damn wedding, after all.

I turned my attention back to Cara as she came out in the next dress. It was all over lace with a nude underlay and was pretty, but it didn’t grab me the way the first dress did.

“Out of ten,” Cara asked as she turned back and forth in the mirror.

“Seven?” I said. “It doesn’t have the wow factor of the first one.” Cara nodded decisively.

“You’re right. Okay, next dress.”

Cara must have tried on at least six more dresses before realizing that nothing could top the first one.

“There’s just one thing I want before I say yes to that dress,” she said with a sly grin on her face.

“And what’s that?” I asked.

“For you to try one on.” I blinked at her.

“Me?”

“Yup, you.” She pointed at me and then crooked her finger. “Come on, humor me.” Cara hopped down the stairs and flopped onto the couch, still wearing the last dress she’d tried on. It was a floaty bohemian thing that wouldn’t be out of place at a painfully hipster wedding where the groom had a beard and the colors were navy, pink, and wood grain.

“Uhhh,” I said, looking at Chloe, who was smiling.

“Come on,” she said, gesturing at the racks. “Choose one.”

I should have spent the time I’d been waiting for Cara to come out in each dress looking for my own, instead of watching all of the little dramas around me. I’d been more interested in the people than the dresses.

“Okay,” I said, but knew it was going to take me a long time to actually pick something.

“Come with me,” Chloe said, heading down the stairs to the opposite corner of the shop. “I have something I think you might like.”

I trailed after her and watched as she pulled two items off a rack.

“What do you think about separates?”

I looked at the two pieces she’d pulled. One was a tulle skirt that was high in the front and long in the back and fluffed out just a little bit. The top was a white tank with lace over it that formed long sleeves.

“Oh,” I said. For a second, I was going to say “no way, put it back,” but the longer I looked at it, the more I thought it would work.

“You like?” Chloe said, raising her eyebrows in expectation.

“I do,” I said. “I’ll try it on.” Chloe grinned and marched me back to the dressing room that Cara had used.

“Hurry upppp,” Cara said. “The suspense is killing me.” She crossed her arms and looked so grumpy that I couldn’t help but laugh.

“I’ve been waiting for you for hours, get a grip.” She wrinkled her nose at me and Chloe shoved me in the dressing room. It was large and had a curtain separating two spaces. The larger space behind the curtain had a bench and hooks on the walls. Cara’s street clothes were folded and set on the bench. There wasn’t a mirror in here. I gave Chloe a look.

“We like to have the big reveal outside of the room. You can’t tell much in the small space. It’s too cramped and the lighting isn’t the best.” I wasn’t sure I liked that. I didn’t want to go out in something that didn’t look good.

“We also have some sample undergarments you can put over what you already have if you want.” I was wearing a black bra and undies, so I asked for a slip for the tulle skirt, but the white part of the top was going to cover my bra. It dipped in the back and had buttons all the way down, but not low enough to reveal the band of my bra. Someone had been conscious of being able to wear a bra with straps had designed this. I appreciated that.

“Oh, how much is this?” I asked as I stripped off my t-shirt. I wasn’t modest, so Chloe helped me carefully get the lace sleeves over my arm and buttoned the back for me.